Hi friends,
This week, I wrote about the importance of being clear in your product descriptions. Catchy phrases or one-line zingers wonât get you your first customers. This is a horrible myth propagated across tech and other industries. Similarly, you shouldnât do storytelling on a product people donât even know or care about.
For a copy that sells you need these two main ingredients: (1) what you do and (2) your user value proposition (UVP). Mixing this two is a tried-and-true conversion-first copywriting tactic.
This isnât to say catchy phrases and storytelling donât belong in your copy. On the contrary, once your prospects know about your product, you can then charm them using these.
Hereâs an example from Leadfeeder and their winning website hero message. In under one sentence, theyâve explained their product, and how it can benefit relevant users.
Iâll be doing more of these case studies. Theyâre surprisingly fun to do.
See you next week,
Julian
>My writing for the week
Early-stage founders, please describe your product clearly
Copywriting case studies: Leadfeederâs hero
SEO, E-A-T Principle, and why you should post valuable content - In my silent crusade against lazy writing, hereâs why you should post more value-rich content. And use Googleâs EAT principle.
>Fake reviews
RATINGS GONE WRONG from Dave Perell
TripAdvisor says it blocked or removed nearly 1.5 million fake reviews in 2018
Thereâs something fundamentally wrong with the way we consume reviews on the Internet. Itâs a valid way to check the appeal of a tool or a product, donât get me wrong. But Iâve lost belief in reviews being good indicators of a businessâ appeal.
Most of my favorite restaurants are run-down and in covered markets - places in London where tourists would never go to. Thereâs beauty in that. We need a way to systematically allow authentic recommendations and subvert the tyranny of quantified reviews.
Reviews are never objective. People have different opinions on whatâs 5 stars and whatâs 2.
Besides, does it really matter anymore? Gaming the system is so easy all it takes is to join a Facebook group and pay someone 5 dollars to write a glowing review of your business, or bash your rivals. Case and point.
>SEO
(PSA for you to stop worrying about your crawl budget)
Google Updates Search Rankings to Favor Original News Reporting
Google Ranks Syndicated Content Over Original Publishers
The Impact of Googleâs Nofollow Update â Advice From The Experts
A Guide to the Biggest SEO Myths on The Web - Never thought Iâd see the day when someone writes about SEO and Occamâs Razor into a single article. Fun read.
>Friends
I might start a blogroll soon. Letâs interact via blogs?
The tyranny of job titles: from vanity growth to personal growth